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Labour has named the political director of Scottish Labour among a host of parliamentary candidates aiming to turn back the nationalist tide.

Martin McCluskey will contest Inverclyde at the snap election when he aims to unseat Ronnie Cowan, of the SNP, who took the seat from Labour in 2015 with an 11,063 majority after winning a huge 37.6 per cent increase in the party’s share of the vote.

McCluskey, a former president of the Oxford University Student Union, is well known in Scottish Labour and previously served as an advisor to Margaret Curran, the former shadow Scottish Secretary.

“People in Inverclyde need a local champion, not a politician obsessed with holding another referendum. I’m proud to call this area home and nothing would be a greater honour than representing the people of Inverclyde in Parliament,” he said.

“In Inverclyde, this election is a straight choice between Labour and the SNP and only a vote for Labour can help get rid of the Tories. I’ll be fighting this election on two issues: defending our local NHS services and creating jobs.

“Under the SNP, Inverclyde Royal Hospital is under threat, and maternity services there are at risk. In the face of this, our local SNP MP has been silent. I never will be.”

The full list of Scottish Labour candidates released in two waves of the last 24 hours is as follows:

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